Can you help some novice bloggers?

Hi, all,
As I've confessed publically, I'm trying to develop a new blogging habit, at first because I want to be a good model for my students--you know, the ole what's-good-for-the-students-should-be-good-for-the-teacher syndrome--and now because Bud's convinced me that there's something in it for me, too.

When I was working on my book, I always began my writing sessions with a ritual: cup of tea, passage from a writing book (e.g., Bird by Bird), entry in a journal I called "Notes to Self." Well, I finished the book, so I'm keeping the ritual while I'm working on a new one, but this time, I'm trying to blog the "Notes to Self" entry instead.

So here's where you come in as does my shameless personal request...

Will you read my blog and comment occasionally on my developing ideas?

I know your thoughtful responses will help shape my thinking as I write. And then, while you're there, feel free to check out my students' blogs as well. You'll find links to them in the blogroll on the right-hand side of my blog.

I doubt my students and I will maintain the habit if we don't get traffic, which those of you reading this have probably learned from experience. So if your blog is active, be sure to link up to it in your comments so that we can visit as well.

Bud's skein of yarn is coming to mind.

(Y)our Work is Important

At the NWP Meeting in Nashville, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Lynne Culp in a big ballroom full of fine folks. Lynne and I happened to both be in the back of the room. She told me a story that warmed my soul and made me happy. I thought you should hear it, too. I asked her if she'd write it down to share with you. She did. She writes:

Two summers ago, I began every day with an hour walk around a golf course near my house in Toluca Lake. I listened to wonderful Mp3s I had carefully playlisted on my iPod. Then, I discovered iTunes listing of podcasts. I knew David Warlick so I downloaded his podcasts which were not too regular at first,but low-and-behold...here was a podcast listing that said nothing but CSU Writing Project. California chauvinist that I am, I thought it was from a California Writing Project...maybe up north. I cheerfully downloaded it, thinking...oh, I'll listen for five minutes then go back to my cooking show. But...that was not to be. I strolled the whole perimeter of the golf course, listening to story after story. I found the and the readings completely compelling. "It's voice, I thought...and it is communicating to me even though I don't know them, don't know where they are...it holds me fast." Very shortly I told Jane Hancock, the co-director of UCLA's Writing Project a bout this amazing opportunity for our writing project people. "We could put on a show too," I cried. However, I remained a voice in the desert until last fall when the NWP requested that UCLA appoint a TL. They did. It's me, and that is how I met you last Friday morning.

If I sound a bit over the top, it is because the listening to those writing project voices was my first understanding of how powerful podcasting could be. Today, when I scroll down the ever-growing iTunes list, I remember how vivid the realization was.

Our work is important. Your voice is important. This time we spend together writing and thinking and learning and teaching is important. The trouble is, we may never know how or to whom it matters. Except today. Thanks, Lynne.
Now -- who wants to podcast? I'm always eager to record your writing, or to help you learn to do so on your own. Just let me know, either via e-mail or through the blog comments.

pride and joy

In case you haven't been paying attention to the lovefest happening below, here's more.

All the CSUWP folks are safely back home from the NWP and NCTE conferences. In some ways, attending these conferences generate the same feelings you have at the conclusion of the summer institute. You're renewed, you're brimming with new ideas, you're tired and sleepy, you've seen firsthand what it feels like to make a difference, you're fat from all the snacks, you're tired and sleepy, and you're convinced you can conquer the world. (Did I mention you're tired and sleepy?)

As a site director, I get to have another great feeling, though. This morning as I was engaged in my annual begging session for more CSUWP $ from the department chair and dean, I was able to say with confidence that CSUWP is making a tremendous difference, well, pretty much everywhere. Did you know that over 530 teachers participated directly in CSUWP programming last year? When you think about how many kids those teachers teach, even a conservative estimate means we've reached about 21,000 students last year alone. Over 125 of them participated in CSUWP programs like Young Writers and book clubs.

Holy cow.

And that's just locally. What was really cool at the conference was to see what a difference we're making nationally as well. You know, sometimes we get our noses so close to the grindstone that we forget that anyone notices or cares what we're doing. Sometimes we don't even notice. But here's where my pride and joy comes in. It was easy to notice this week as I saw Bud with all his groupies (one of them has already e-mailed me for his address. She sounded a little desperate like she had to reach him NOW. Creeped me out a little.); Emily, Tiffany, and Rebecca presenting their little hearts out at NCTE; Cameron taking notes as fast as he possibly could in NWP sessions and carrying laptops, luggage, and LCD projectors without being asked; Jaime Wood glowing as she talked about her new book and her new life as an MFA student in St. Louis; and Rhys Roberts, Stacey Brown, Darren Marshall, and Stephanie Rector soaking it all in. I was in awe just standing by and watching.

And NWP leaders and fellows around the country are noticing your good work as well. Trust me, in four short years, CSUWP is already considered a pretty amazing site.

That's why I am so very proud of all of you. And when I say "proud," I don't mean in a taking-credit sort of way. I mean proud that I get to know you and stand by and watch what you'll do next.

You all are rockin' the world.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Cindy

Writers Write

Author
Originally uploaded by Bud the Teacher.

Ran into a familiar face on the Exhibit Hall floor this afternoon. Jaime R. Wood, one of my classmates in the first CSUWP Summer Institute, was there discussing her recent book on multicultural poetry and middle school students, Living Voices. She graciously allowed me to shoot this picture.
Cindy O'Donnell-Allen, our director, also has a book out right now. The Book Club Companion is about, well, book clubs. I'm hearing good things about both.

Writers write. Writing teachers write. I'm so proud of our CSUWP authors. What have you been writing or reading lately?

more from nwp

Howdy, ya'll, Those of at CSUWP are once again prepared to take over the world. It's amazing how inspired I've managed to get in a little over 48 hours, even in my post-sinus infection haze. The magic of hundreds of fired-up writing teachers under the same roof never fails to take me by surprise. At my very first session, the NWP presenter said, "We are the answer." And as bold as that may sound, you just gotta believe it. Halfway through our trip, here's what we've already done: 1. Written a plan for an Advanced Institute that will integrate teacher research and technology and will be open to any CSUWP teacher THIS SUMMER (if you're interested, you need to ask me about this), identified a potential grant to fund it, and begun to think about staffing 2. Started thinking seriously about a one-day administrator's conference 3. Become convinced that professional development support for early career teachers is a necessity, not an option (this morning we heard that nearly half of all new teachers leave the profession within 5 years, yet the median # of years for a NWP teacher is 25! Coincidence? We think not.) 4. Gotten me to post to post to two blogs in one day, including my own (click on the blogessor post to the right to see the other post) 5. Figured out that my sleep number is 45 and discovered that all Nashville roads are under construction (see Cam's previous post) Tomorrow Rebecca Fox, Tiffany Hunt, Emily Richards Moyer, and I will make a strong CSUWP showing at our NCTE presentation. I'm pretty sure Bud will be posting some pictures and a truly heartwarming story about the impact of your podcasts soon. Stay tuned, Cindy

Top Ten Reasons to Come to the NWP Conference

10. Cindy and Emily giggling as they play with the controls of the Sleep Number bed
9. Free coffee, bagels and spreads
8. Groupies coming up and asking for their picture with you (right, Bud?)
7. The accents
6. Listening to other amazing professionals talk about how they teach what they teach
5. Listening to other amazing professionals talk about how they teach what they teach
4. Need I say it again?
3. Getting lost in Cordelia Drive, which turned into Lane, which turned into Court
2. The great stories and conversations over dinner and drinks
1. Feeling the urge to make changes that will change lives

One hotel room, two double beds, four people, split four ways = 25 bucks.
Next year, it's in New York City.

Inquiry and Tech

Cindy and I had a great roundtable session today on teacher inquiry and how to build a successful TIC (Teacher Inquiry Community). Specifically, we spent some time discussing a possible intersection between technology and inquiry. If you were at that session, and had a question or comment, please leave your thoughts in the comments so that we can continue the conversation.

NCTE/NWP Annual Meetings

Greetings from Nashville, where several CSUWP TC's and staff are attending the NWP Annual Meeting. Some of us, too, are at the NCTE Annual Convention.

Blogging in Walden

I am so excited that I have set up a member's only blog for my fifth grade writers. I asked them what they wanted to do in the writing class, and computer use was first on their list. They are thinking that I will let them type and print, but oh no, it is much more than that. I am hoping that the parents get involved as well. We start blogging after Thanksgiving. I'll let you know how it goes.

Guess what we're doing at my school!

Hey lovely peeps. I know you’re not going to believe it but we’ve started demos at my school! I'm surprised and delighted and once again very thankful for how the WP has influenced my career. It was scary - I was the first to give a lesson and frankly, rather than try to answer one of my many big questions I stayed on safer ground. I taught something I thought I was pretty good at but could use some tweaking. I was certain I'd get a bunch of criticism – I am a young teacher in the midst of many who are teetering on edges of their last “steps.” But I asked for stars and wishes – did I mention stars? – and I got them. I have useful ideas to take back to the class and we’ve begun a staff discussion that’s more relevant to my life in the classroom than most others I can remember. I’m even considering that a couple teachers might think of me as a professional – and that has been hard to come by teaching at the school I (barely) graduated from.

Y'all helped me realize some of my own potential as a leader and with the support of another fellow at my school I was able to not cave at the last minute. Now I'm looking forward to staff meetings on Friday. I think those close to retirement have a lot to offer me - now I'll have a chance to actually learn from them.

Kooser in Golden

Heather C. and I spent a lovely Saturday with former Poet Laureate Ted Kooser at the CLAS fall writing retreat in Golden. No line dancing, but lots of good writing, reading and words of wisdom from the Nebraska poet, not to mention some socializing with folks from the Denver Writing Project, the Rocky Mountain Writing Project and the Colorado Writing Project.

Got me thinking again about trying to have a combined WP event (cocktail party?) at the CLAS conference in March. Whaddya think, Bud?

STEP UP - UZE YA SKILLZ

"You're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darn it - people like you." - Who said it?

I'm looking for a few good (wo)men to present to Preston Junior High School faculty on one of our many inservice days. We're trying to incorporate writing across the curriculum and what better way to get science and math writing than with a real, live human! Anyone interested in presenting either their research from CSUWP or sharing writing prompts that they use in the classroom? I'm sure we could cover substitute pay and maybe even throw in a sassy, little coffee (not literally)... let me know!
gpierson@psdschools.org
Greg Pierson

Welcome, New Preservice Bloggers

This is a post specifically for Cindy's "about-to-be-blogger" students. Cindy asked me to link you to my blog. You can find it here. I've left you a message there, too.

Mini-Marathon

Hola, fellow WP folks.
We had a Mini-Marathon at my house on the 16th of September, and it was wonderful. I think my favorite line of the day had something to do with a diaper commercial and how it made someone's uterus ache. Good times.
We enjoyed coffee, lots of treats--it's a writing project function--and shared lots of writing, writing ideas, book titles.
If you are interested in hosting an event, please contact Kim Penn about doing so.

Let's Build a Network

Hey, y'all. It's nice to see you again. When last we met, several of you created blogs and said that you wanted more.

Well, here we go.

Today, we're going to be talking about learning networks, and how we can use blogs, podcasts, wikis, and other learning tools to create them.
We're going to begin today here, an article in this month's Edutopia Magazine. The piece is written by Will Richardson, one of my teachers in the edublogosphere, the learning network that I call "home."

After we've read the piece, I'd like for you to take ten minutes and use the comments section of this post to write your thoughts about what you've just read, as well as any questions that this raises for you and/or anything you're hoping we can explore further today.

I won't lie to you -- it's my goal today to convince you that every person -- student, teacher, administrator, parent, or otherwise -- is a person of value who can contribute positively to a learning network. We've all got a lot to learn from each others' experiences, knowledge, questions and concerns.

And today, we're going to look at some of the nuts and bolts of that sharing.

Everyone's network starts with two essential pieces -- your input device and your output device. For us today, Blogger is for output, and Bloglines is for input. While we're a "writing project," We'll start with input today, and move on from there.

By the time you leave today, hopefully you'll have created a personal learning network, as well as populated it with some useful resources for you. Then, it's up to you to become a participant in the networked world. After you're proficient, it's time to get your students involved.

Anything else we accomplish is bonus.

A few links we'll probably end up using (although we might not):

• Blogger and Bloglines Tutorial (We looked at this when we met in June. No shame in reviewing it. If you'd prefer, here's another tutorial that deals with the same issues.)
• Technorati (Google for Blogs)
• Podshow (Adam Curry's podcasting "network)
• Bailey crisis blog article from Rocky Mountain News -- Friday, September 29th, 2006
• Bud's Wiki (permission letters, odds 'n' ends, etc.)
• Placeholder Wiki for Today
• K12Online Conference
• Karl Fisch's Fischbowl - Did You Know?
• Bud's "No Good Thing is Easy" Reference. (Basic tech and blog/podcast info -- might be a useful read for you -- but I won't force anybody to read it.)
• Visual Thesaurus
• Wikipedia
• YouTube

What Is It that Y'all'd Like to Do?

I'm giving a presentation/workshop to a great group of teacher consultants of the CSUWP on Saturday. The focus/topic is "Blogging & Podcasting 102." Do you think you/they'd like to leave with their own blog, or should we work towards an online community ala Elgg? I originally had intended to go the blog route, as I've done with that group in the past, but a conversation with a colleague this week has me thinking that perhaps a supportive online community gathering place might be a better way to go.
What do you think? How would you like to spend that time? I'm particularly interested in your suggestions/opinions/concerns/questions/etc., if you're going to be in the group on Saturday.

K12 Online Conference

I'm pleased to report that I'll be giving one of the keynote presentations for the first "K12 Online 2006" conference/convention/virtual meetup/really neat-o mashup of smart folks sharing interesting things. Please read the rest of this post to learn more and to see how you can participate.

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Announcing the first annual “K12 Online 2006″ convention for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice. This year’s conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30- Nov. 3 with the theme “Unleashing the Potential.” A call for proposals is below.

There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday - Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in podcast or screencast format and released via the conference blog (URL: TBA) and archived for posterity.

THE FOUR STRANDS ARE:

Week 1

Strand A: A Week In The Classroom

These presentations will focus on the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools (Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools in their classes. They will also show how teachers plan for using these tools in the delivery of their curricular objectives.

Strand B: Basic/Advanced Training (one of each per day)

Basic training is “how to” information on tool use in an educational setting, especially for newcomers.

Advanced training is for teachers who have already started using Web 2.0 tools in their classes and are looking for: (a) advanced technology training (eg. how to write your own blog template or hack existing ones), (b) new tools they can make use of in their classes, (c) teaching ideas on how to mash tools together to create “something new,” (d) a pedagogical understanding of how technologies such as Weblogs, wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking sites, RSS feeds and others can deepen learning and increase student achievement, or (e) use of assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of Read/Write Web technologies in their personal practice and with their students.

Week 2

Strand A: Personal Professional Development

Tips, ideas and resources on how to orchestrate your own professional development online; the tools that support Professional Learning Environments (PLEs); how to create opportunities to bring these technologies to the larger school community; how to effectively incorporate the tools into your personal or professional practice; or how to create a supportive, reflective virtual professional community around school-based goals.

Strand B: Overcoming Obstacles

Tips, ideas and resources on how to deal with issues like: lack of access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/district concerns for online safety, and other IT concerns while trying to focus on best practice in the use of Web 2.0 tools.

CONVENORS & KEYNOTES

For organization purposes, each strand is overseen by a conference convenor who will assist and coordinate presenters in their strand. The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynote by a well known educator who has distinguished his/herself and is knowledgeable in the context of each topic. This year’s convenors and keynote presenters are:

A Week In The Classroom

Convenor: Darren Kuropatwa

Keynote: Bud Hunt

Bud Hunt teaches high school language arts and journalism at Olde Columbine High School in Longmont, Colorado. He is a teacher-consultant with and the Tech Liaison for the Colorado State University Writing Project, an affiliate of the National Writing Project, a group working to improve the teaching of writing in schools via regular and meaningful professional development. Bud is also the co-editor of the New Voices column of English Journal, a publication of the National Council of Teachers of English. A consumer of copious amounts of New Media, Bud blogs and podcasts about his practice and larger educational issues at http://www.budtheteacher.com.

Basic/Advanced Training

Convenor: Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach

Keynote: TBA

Personal Professional Development

Convenor: Will Richardson

Keynote: Ewan McIntosh

Ewan McIntosh is an educational technologist and teacher of French and German. Based in the Edinburgh area of Scotland he frequently works around the UK and Europe, leading student and teacher workshops and conferences. He is an experienced workshop facilitator in the area of Web 2.0 technologies in education across stages and curricular areas. Ewan blogs at http://edu.blogs.com

Overcoming Obstacles

Convener: TBA

Keynote: Anne Davis

Anne is known for seeing the educational possibilities in the use ofweblogs with students in classrooms, having implemented wonderful ideasand weblog projects with students and teachers in K-12 classrooms and atthe university level. She currently works at Georgia State University inthe Instructional Technology Center in the College of Education as anInformation Systems Training Specialist. Her weblog, EduBlog Insights

is a co-winner of the Best Teacher Blog inthe second international Edublog Awards, a web based event thatrecognizes the many diverse and imaginative ways in which weblogs arebeing used within education.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

We’d like to invite you to submit a proposal to present at the conference. If you have something you’d like to share with the community, both people who are new to blogs and/or experienced bloggers please email the appropriate conference convenor above with your ideas. The deadline to submit a proposal (just the proposal, not the finished product) is September 30, 2006. One of us will contact you to finalize the date of your presentation. Your presentation may be delivered in any web-based medium (including but not limited to…podcasts, PowerPoint files, blogs, websites, wikis, screencasts, etc.) and must be emailed to your assigned conference convenor one week before it goes live, (see above strands) so that it can be uploaded to the server.

The conference organizers are:

Darren Kuropatwa

Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of Mathematics at Daniel McIntyre Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is known internationally for his ability to weave the use of online social tools meaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical practice and for “child safe” blogging practices. He has more than 20 years experience in both formal and informal education and 13 years experience in team building and leadership training. Darren has been facilitating workshops for educators in groups of 4 to 300 for the last 10 years. Darren’s professional blog is called A Difference ( http://adifference.blogspot.com).

Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach

Sheryl is a technology/education consultant for the National Education Association (NEA), the Center for Teaching Quality, SRI International, the Virginia Community College System, the Virginia Department of Education, the Miami-Dade Public Schools, and the Alabama Best Practices Center. She has had several journal articles and book chapters published, been featured on public broadcasting television and radio shows, and is a regular presenter at local, state, and national conferences speaking on topics of homelessness, teacher leadership, virtual community building, and 21st Century learning initiatives. Sheryl blogs at 21st Century Collaborative ( http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/).

Will Richardson

Will Richardson is known internationally for his work with educators and students to understand and implement instructional technologies and, more specifically, the tools of the Read/Write Web into their schools, classrooms and communities. A public school educator for 22 years, Will’s own Weblog ( Weblogg-ed.com) is a primary resource for the creation and implementation of Weblog technologies on the K-12 level and is a leading voice for school reform in the context of the fundamental changes these new technologies are bringing to all aspects of life. Will is the critically acclaimed authour of the best-selling book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Tools for Classrooms (March 2006, Corwin Press).

If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:

Darren Kuropatwa

Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach

Will Richardson

Please duplicate this post and distribute it far and wide across the blogosphere. Feel free to republish it on your own blog (actually, we’d really like people to do that ) or link back to this post (published simultaneously on all our blogs). Please tag all related posts with k12online06.

Update -- Young Writers in St. Vrain

Congratulations to everyone involved in the recent "Teacher as Writer" and "Young Writer" programs conducted in St. Vrain this past week. I know lots of work went into some great programming. The Longmont Daily Times Call wrote up the events in today's paper. Here's a link to the story.

A Maine-iac's Musings

Check out my new blog!

The End... for now.

The end of the SI has come... at least until the end of Sept. when we gather ourselves together one more time, but hopefully not the last. It's been intense, to say the least, both in work and in play, in remodeling old relationships and forming new ones. It’s been beautiful, difficult, comforting, challenging, and ridiculous all at the same time. If you don’t agree, you weren’t paying attention.

Every year I'm asked by my friends why I choose to come back, why I give up 4 weeks of my summer (plus more during the school year) when I've already participated in WP. Didn't I get what I needed? Too many teachers see specific professional development as something they’ve already participated in. Once they’ve done it, they look for something else.

“I did that last year.” “I already took a class on that.” “I already know how to do that.”

But I see it differently. There is no end to my need (for myself and my students) to be a better writing teacher, to be a more thorough and thought-provoking teacher-researcher, to be a deeper and more self-aware writer. It doesn’t matter that I’ve “already tried it” or “already done that”. It’s greater than that. It’s bigger than just my views and limited knowledge.

For me, WP Summer Institute is rebirth, rejuvenation. I see it on the faces of the "graduating" fellows every year. Oftentimes, teachers need to know that they aren't alone. So much of our jobs is behind a closed door. And WP reminds me of this. I'm always looking for new challenges and experiences to keep me in teaching, a job I live for but am afraid I'll burn out on. The writing project is still that for me.

The SI that I was a Fellow participant in was a great moment in time when I realized that I could and would do more for kids in a way I never understood. But the 2 years I've returned as a staff member, I've learned more. I've seen a lot…

…humble teachers realizing how great they can be; master teachers passing on wisdom to young, energetic ones; The same master teachers humbling themselves in the midst of a extraordinary community. I've seen inexperienced teachers see that there is more to teaching writing than what their limited views afford them; all teachers gaining a greater appreciation and understanding for those grade levels they don’t teach. More than anything, I’ve seen people step outside their comfort zone in their teaching and personal lives and be truly transformed by the experience. Every year is a bit different but always incredibly powerful. I’ve always said that every person that enters my life, even for a short time, is there to teach me something.

So Thank you…

To Sherry for illustrating how much the primary grade levels can inform junior high and high school teachers in their teaching of writing.

To Beth for showing me how “collegial” one can be when speaking to adults or ordering food… and how to keep a sense of humor through diversity.

To Kat for reminding me why I still need to travel and how I can make my experiences just as powerful for my students.

To Dani for showing me the most important lessons our kids learn are the ones they get early in life. It’s my job, as a high school teacher, to support those lessons.

To Julie for reminding me how sacrificing those things that are the most important to you for greater experiences can be the most rewarding.

To Colleen C. for demonstrating to me that you can truly make a difference no matter what you are surrounded by as long as you are willing to take a risk.

To Colleen (Stan) for proving to me that peripheral friends can somehow, someway become amazing influences in your life.

To Tami for demonstrating to me that super organized people aren’t necessarily super annoying (which I used to believe)… and that connections with people can take an enormous amount of work or can be instantaneous.

To Donna for reminding me that a strong family is defined by the deep connections between people, not societal stereotypes or monetary possessions.

To Cameron for showing me that no matter how accomplished you are at something, there are always new challenges to undertake.

To Elsa for giving me a much greater perspective on the beauty and successes of the ELA community of students and teachers.

To Trudy for showing us how much we, the teachers, have to learn from the amazing adults that are a part of our students’ lives outside of the stereotypical classroom.

To Cindy for proving to me that Doctors and Professors don’t have to be arrogant and intimidating (though you do scare me occasionally).

To Nancy for showing me how humility, wisdom, understanding, empathy, and knowledge can manifest themselves in a single master teacher.

To Lindsey for reminding me that surrounding yourselves with honest, positive people can enrich your life and experiences.

To Natalie for teaching me how to share… or at least attempting to teach me how to share, something I should have learned a long time ago.

To Laura for demonstrating me how people challenge themselves in so many different ways in so many different arenas.

To Heather for showing me that those that listen first and speak later have the greatest wisdom.

To Liz for reminding me that “the best way to teach students” should be a conversation that all teachers continue to participate in, because there is no one perfect way.

To Gilda for reminding me how important and powerful a sense of humor is for a teacher… and for keeping me honest by flicking me off… three times.

To Jackie for reminding me how much I miss having you as part of my daily life.

To Cam for reminding me how much I never wanted an older brother.

To Megan for demonstrating to me how much love one person can spread around and give to so many others.

To Kyla for reminding me how important it is to laugh and cry in equal amounts as much possible.

To E. Jason for reminding me that teaching students to have an open mind and empathy is more important that any content that we teach to kids.

Thank you all.
See you soon…